Editorial: Clean Energy Act is worth the sacrifice

Tuesday

Jun 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2009 at 5:17 AM

The American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009 passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 219-212 vote on Friday. Eight Republicans voted in favor of the Democrat-sponsored bill while 44 Democrats opposed it.

The American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009 passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 219-212 vote on Friday. Eight Republicans voted in favor of the Democrat-sponsored bill while 44 Democrats opposed it.

The U.S. Senate will consider the controversial environmental legislation next and neither of Ohio’s senators – Brown nor Voinovich – have given it their blessing.

There is no doubt this bill – if it becomes law – will hit the Midwest harder than any other region of the U.S. because we produce almost all of our electricity by coal-fired power plants. That such plants create both cheap energy and lung-clogging pollution cannot be debated. So there is no way to make the argument that Ohio is not going to pay a price for what this bill aims to accomplish – a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Just as many of us must decide whether we want to ensure a solid education for future generations by voting for that public school operating levy (even though we may not have children in school), we also must decide if we want to endeavor to keep our air breathable and our planet habitable even though we’ll all be long gone by the time these chickens come home to roost.

America can’t ask the rest of the world – especially burgeoning industrialized nations such as China and India – to quit polluting our planet if we as a nation aren’t willing to take the first step.

This legislation is designed to take that first step by creating “green” jobs, reducing dependence on foreign oil and combating global warming all at the same time.

It’s going to cost us, but we believe the sacrifice is worthwhile ... for the good of our planet.